Proverbs 1 Footnotes

1:1-6 Proverbs promises practical benefits that include skill in living, insight, the ability to plan wisely, common sense, and guidance. Verse 3 makes it clear that the wisdom in view is not just pragmatic but includes ethical and moral dimensions.

1:7 This is the central theme of Proverbs. The “fear of the LORD” involves worship of the Lord and respectful submission to his authority in every area of life. It is this reverence of the Lord, according to Pr, that constitutes the only sure foundation for the pursuit of knowledge.

1:8 The teaching in chaps. 1–9 is regularly presented as instruction from a parent to a child, and this shows that obedience is one important aspect of honoring one’s father and mother (Ex 20:12; Lv 19:3; Dt 5:16). Proverbs sees parents as agents through which God’s wisdom comes to a child. These exhortations presuppose that the parents’ instruction reflects God’s truth.

1:10-19 Young people will sometimes receive input that conflicts with the instruction of parents, and they must choose which advice to follow. Frequently “sinners” (v. 10) may claim that benefits can be achieved more easily and quickly by following their way. But Proverbs tells us that the way of “sinners” is not all it promises to be. That way actually leads to destruction and death.

1:19 Critics claim that statements such as v. 19 are not actually true. But these critiques reflect a failure to understand ancient proverbs and the world in which they functioned. Proverbial material deals with the general and usual principles of life, rather than presenting invariable laws. Careful observation of life, both ancient and modern, supports the general truth of statements such as v. 19. Though it is not the focus of OT Wisdom literature, it should also be noted that God’s justice will ultimately prevail, and the inequities that are a part of life in a fallen world will be finally rectified.

1:20-33 Wisdom is available to anyone who seeks it, as 2:1-5 and 8:17 make clear. To get wisdom the disciple must choose wisdom and the fear of the Lord (1:23,33). Those who reject wisdom and refuse her invitation (vv. 24-25,29-30) will reach a point of no return where the consequences of their folly are inevitable and inescapable. Wisdom’s response in vv. 26 and 28 does not conflict with the idea that those who seek wisdom will find it. The context makes it clear that the difficulties described here result from peoples’ failure to seek wisdom and their rejection of it.

These verses reflect the wisdom doctrine of retribution: people reap what they sow, and often in proportion to what they sow. In v. 26 wisdom responds in kind to those who mocked her when she spoke from the entrance of the city gates. Her response in v. 28 reflects the reality that there are consequences to behaviors that are not turned aside, even by repentance. While clearly recognizing the sovereign providence of God (16:9), Proverbs also describes people as able to make genuine choices and as being responsible for the outcomes of those choices.